Russian Africa Corps helped Niger forces kill, arrest coup plotters in Niamey – Official
“But these are Russians, they are not exploiting the Nigerien people but are still protecting them against mutineers sponsored by the West.”
Russia’s Africa Corps reportedly played a key role in helping Nigerien government forces suppress an attempted coup by mutinous soldiers in the capital, Niamey, after violence erupted Saturday night of August 29, 2026.
Heavy gunfire and explosions were reported around Diori Hamani International Airport, a military base and the presidential palace during the overnight unrest.
The airport’s Air Base 101 also houses the headquarters of Russia’s Africa Corps and the joint command structure of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), comprising Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
Niger’s ruling military authorities described the incident as an attempted coup by soldiers who had breached military discipline and taken fellow officers hostage at Base 101. The mutineers also reportedly targeted other sensitive installations in Niamey, including the area around the presidential palace and the national broadcaster.
According to reporting by the Associated Press, Russia’s Africa Corps, estimated at between 200 and 300 personnel in Niger, intervened with ground and aerial support to help loyalist forces regain control of the affected areas. Several mutineers were subsequently arrested or killed.
The Russian Ambassador to Niger, Viktor Voropaev, also said Africa Corps had received a request for assistance in neutralising the mutineers, according to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Reuters separately reported that Niger’s army regained control of the strategic airbase on August 30 following the attack and confirmed that the Kremlin-backed Africa Corps had received a request for assistance.
The attempted coup appears to have involved disaffected members of Niger’s armed forces, with analysts linking the unrest to frustration over worsening jihadist violence, battlefield losses and dissatisfaction with the military leadership of General Abdourahamane Tiani, who seized power in a 2023 coup.
By Sunday, Nigerien authorities said they had regained control of the key installations targeted by the mutineers. Dozens of soldiers were reportedly killed or arrested as government forces brought the uprising under control.
The episode further underscores Niger’s growing reliance on Russia following the withdrawal of Western military forces from the country.
It also marks a significant development in the expanding role of Russia’s Africa Corps in protecting and supporting Niger’s military government, a situation that many Pan-Africanists have described as development.
One of them said, “Quite well, ni country can exist in isolation from others but foreign countries you want to relate with must be development partners not usurpers. The West were in that country for decades exploiting and carting away the people’s God-given resources while deliberately plunging them into abject poverty, through the use of stooges they imposed on them as leaders.
“But these are Russians, they are not exploiting the Nigerien people but are still protecting them against mutineers sponsored by the West.”
